Averages Meet Outcasts
by Loli-Lolitaa
Summary: Flaky, a beautiful, young, free-spirited rebel, moves to yet another new high school in HTF town after trying to attend many others. But she's a lot different from everyone else there, and by 'a lot', it was highly impossible for her to fit in.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N: Hey everyone, this chapter and the next two have finally been edited :3 (and I'm uploading the fifth chapter too! Yay!)**

**So, all that's been changed is the work up towards the new plot, I've ditched the OC's because I no longer want them in this story, and I've also completely removed the character POV ( personally, it just looked messy)**

**Sorry I've kept you all waiting for this :c**  
><strong>Enjoy!<strong>

* * *

><p>As the remaining exterior of the blackened building crumbled into a pile of rubble, Flaky silently watched from afar in a pit of remorse. Nobody else was in sight, meaning they'd all escaped in on piece; that was at least one shard of positivity. But now, as she stood alone facing the outcome of her own undoing, there was no doubting the obvious that there was no going back now. The porcupine wasn't going to keep following in their steps - they'll only lead to hellish havoc.<p>

**…~x~X~x~…**

With a deep breath, Flaky finally mustered the will to put an end to her mental argument, and sat upright in bed. It was very early in the morning, and the settled tranquility in her uncle's house was a clear sign that he was sleeping soundly in the room next door…or downstairs on the couch again. No more hesitation; it was now or never. Now was the better option.

The red furred porcupine threw back her bed covers and swung her legs over the side to stand up. She was already dressed and ready to leave, having packed one bag of belongings. There was no time to fuss over everything she owned, Flaky made sure to only pack clothes, and the very few things that held the most importance to her. Ensuring everything was in order, Flaky double-checked through her rucksack and room to see if she was satisfied with what she'd packed. In reality, the porcupine was going through a great struggle to fight off her second thoughts. Living with her uncle, under his rules and regulations, was dragging her life down all the wrong lanes. No teen should suffer under the hands of a man who aimed to control her choices. So this was it. Finally, freedom was close enough to grasp.

All she had to do now was get to the garage without rousing the older porcupine from his slumber. As silent as she possibly could, Flaky made her way downstairs, avoiding the creaky floorboards that she'd grown accustomed to remembering. She placed her bag down by the front door before entering the living room. As expected, there lay her lousy, middle-aged uncle, passed out on his couch with several empty bottles of booze piled beside him.

Francis was likely wasted on alcohol again. Good. All the better for her easy escape. The keys to the door were already at hand, but they keys to her bike were presumably hidden from her reach. After countless attempts at sneaking out at night on her motorbike, Francis started to hide her keys from her, but tended to keep them in his pockets knowing too well that Flaky wouldn't dare to approach him.

Standing over his snoring form, Flaky held her breath in order to steady her hands as she gingerly reached into his jean pockets. Not there. She haplessly frowned, noticing the set of keys in his shirt pocket.

_'This is gonna suck…' _she irritantly thought to herself before hesitantly sliding her finger and thumb into the pocket, avoiding as much contact as possible.

After some time of stiff movement, Flaky succeeded in stealing back her keys without stirring the male porcupine. A smile from her achievement sprawled over her lips as she turned her back on Francis to head for the front door. The moment of success vanished when she entered her garage; all focus was set on piling her bag onto her bike, and getting the heck out of there.

Her uncle's sleeping habits were unpredictable, and the possibility of him waking at random moments was very likely. The very thought of getting caught now made her nerves tingle, making her hurry in her motions. The waterproof cover of her bike was thrown off in an instant, and Flaky quickly set her rucksack on the back of her bike before sitting comfortably on its seat and inserting and twisting the key in the ignition.

The bike's engine made a loud hum as it started, worrying Flaky. It was loud enough to be heard in the house, but precautions at this point were pointless; she was just going to take her luck as it is thus far, and so she gave her motorbike a kickstart before advancing out of the garage with much haste.

Any far away location was an ideal designation; as long as Francis wouldn't think to trace her down to that place, Flaky would happily start anew there.

**…~x~X~x~…**

Cars around her shortened in numbers as she travelled. Over the gradual hours of travelling on an empty highway road in the middle of nowhere was beginning to unsettle the porcupine. Every other car had seemed to avoid the long road she was currently on, and took the first junction as an exit, until they were all gone. Perhaps the road ends? Or a bridge further down the way is unstable or collapsed? Either way, nobody was looking to spend hours venturing down this route.

The early morning sky was slowly brightening, and Flaky was oblivious to the current time, but she figured it was probably six to seven o'clock at least. With her mind swept so far under the yearn to increase the distance between her and Francis' house, the porcupine didn't realise how tired she was; the next stop will be the last.

A lengthy distance away, Flaky could clearly see the peaking top of trees, and upon ascending closer, the many towering trees stretched out for miles until they were no longer visible, almost as if it was some sort of border.

Flaky took this as an advantage to finally end her travels; any place to stop now was a good one. So she raced down the empty highway, eventually disappearing into the mass of woodland and weaved down the ever-winding road. Just like her experience on the highway, Flaky ventured down the road in the woods without the company of other passing cars. Despite the chilling atmosphere that emitted within the dark, lifeless woods, Flaky enjoyed the peace that welcomely enveloped her.

Upon her exit from the woods, Flaky was greeted by a large sign that read the words _'Happy Tree Town - 5 yards' _and she released an exhilarated sigh; just knowing that her chance to catch some shut-eye away from a house full of distress and pain was keeping her motivated to ride on.

Much like her journey on the highway, Flaky was accompanied by very little to no cars on the road. It wasn't so early in the morning by now, and any people around her were likely on their way to work if anything. She sped passed a welcoming sign to a mall, and below was a list of the many popular stores inside. But to her luck, right next to the mall was an apartment building.

Flaky turned into the lane dividing the mall's large carpark from the apartment building's much smaller one. But upon slightly turning her head to inspect the mall one last time, something out of the ordinary caught her eye. A girl, a little smaller than she, walking and talking to something in her hand at the same time. Curious, and if not a bit intrigued by the sight, Flaky swiftly crossed over the lane and luckily dodged the stunned car in front of her as she did so.

The porcupine ignored the angry buzz of the shocked driver's car horn to focus on the girl. As she came to a stop at the curb, Flaky hopped off the bike to meet with the lilac lamb and removed her helmet. It would seem odd for her to randomly walk up to her, considering she was a new face in town, and a complete stranger. But Flaky figured now was the time to meet a resident and maybe get some information about the town.

"Excuse me," she politely called out to the girl. The lamb jumped but quickly turned to face Flaky. She wasn't able to get a glimpse of the green object as she swiftly stuffed it into her bag, "Who were you talking to?" Flaky then asked, then realising it was a little noisy on her part.

"Umm... No-one..." the girl shyly replied in a quiet tone, looking rather taken aback by Flaky's abrupt appearance.

The visible tear marks on the girl's cheeks surprised Flaky, making her regret bothering the girl from the start. Nobody still in a sensitive emotional state would want company from a stranger after all. But that thought was up until the lamb spoke out to Flaky

"What's your name?"

"Oh…my name is Flaky. What's yours?" Flaky then asked, offering a smile to the expressionless girl. She eventually smiled back, taking in Flaky's show of kindness willingly, "Lammy."

"Lammy, huh? It's nice to meet you." Flaky greeted, holding out her hand for Lammy to shake. The lamb hesitated, but soon did with a friendly smile forming on her lips.

Flaky wanted to stray away from questioning so much, but couldn't curve her curiosities, "May I ask what you're doing out here so early on your own?"

Lammy was reluctant about answering, "I…well, I wasn't alone at one point, but…" Flaky took notice to her trembling lip, and decided to relieve her the burden of explaining a clearly difficult thing, "Hey, don't worry about it, you don't need to tell me."

The two girls went silent for the next few seconds, their ears taking more of an interest on the sweeping of passing cars.

"So you're new here?" Lammy asked. Flaky nodded as a reply, "You could say that…this is probably the fortieth time I've moved town."

"Seriously? Why do you move so much?" Lammy asked in complete shock. Flaky knew what to say, but was aware that uttering the complications of her life would be no good idea.

"Well…I had grown detatched of my parents, and have lived with my uncle. He travels a lot, and it's fun…but I've decided that I can live by myself now. I've been moving from town to town to find a decent school to attend." Flaky lied. But had no choice.

"I see…" Lammy uttered, tilting her head as she curiously studied the porcupine's expression of discomfort, "So, you said that you're looking for a new school, right? You could always come to Happy Tree High. I mean, it's the only high school in this small town, so if you don't like it then you're probably out of luck here..." Lammy commented with an unsure smile. Flaky lost herself in thought for a moment, realising she would have to try this high school after all. Anything to keep her occupied as a typical teenage girl.

"Say…Lammy, would you like a ride home?" Flaky kindly offered, rather abruptly on Lammy's part.

Regardless, the lamb grinned and nodded her head, so Flaky gestured for her to follow her back to the purple sport's bike, "Have you ever had experience on a motorbike before?"

Eagerly, the lilac girl nodded. Excitement painted her features as she hopped on the back of the bike and wrapped her thin arms around Flaky - for obvious safety reasons. With a light giggle, the porcupine adjusted her helmet over her head and kickstarted the engine with a series of revs. Then in the blink of an eye, they were already creating distance from the apartment and mall. For the rest of their journey, Flaky cautiously eared Lammy's given directions, ultimately leading to her home.


	2. Chapter 2

"...and make a final right turn, then we're here!"

With that final turn the two came face to face with a huge three-story house. It was surrounded by perfectly cut blankets of healthy green grass that had several flower beds filled with red and white roses. There was a rather elegant fountain that sat in front of the house. Flaky slowed down as they rode towards it, the relaxing sound of the crystal-clear water clashing into the fountain soothed her. The porcupine stopped a few metres away from the house and waited for Lammy to remove herself from the bike.

The lamb did, and quickly rushed towards her front door and looked back at Flaky, "Come on in!" that said, the red female gave a simple nod, and tugged the keys out of the bike before following Lammy into her house.

Flaky was astonished as she caught a full glimpse of the inside of the house, but it was hardly that surprising as she saw the outside image of the house. Lammy told Flaky to wait whilst she went to find her parents, and gracefully tiptoed up the tall winding stairs - her footsteps only just managed to echo in the wide open room. Flaky shrugged and curiously looked around as she patiently waited for her to return.

A few minutes later several footsteps were heard making their way back down the stairs. In one quick motion, Flaky straightened up and stood tall in an attempt to look decent. But, thinking twice about it, since when does a stranger in a biker's suit appear descent to anyone?

Lammy smiled at Flaky, who was beginning to grow nervous as she glanced at Lammy's father, he was definitely muscular just by looking at the size of his dark suit. The large, well-built, dark green bear eyed Flaky with suspicion, only causing her to try and entirely avoid eye contact. On the other hand, Lammy's mother looked a lot more calm and welcoming. She held looks similar to Lammy's, although her fur was darker. She was wearing a pretty, floral dress that stopped just under her knees, and her short, curly, white hair only just managed to rest on her thinly defined shoulders.

"Mom, dad, this is Flaky," Lammy introduced to them. Flaky then shook her mother's outstretched hand with a warm smile. She then turned to face Lammy's father and hesitantly shook his larger hand. He seemed content, until Lammy said the wrong thing in front of him, "she gave me a ride home from the mall on her motorbike!"

His rough face slowly turned from blank to angered, and his grip on Flaky's hand began to tighten. Flaky jumped and nervously laughed as she attempted to slip out of his harsh grip.

"Let go of her hand, Frank! You're hurting the poor girl!" Lammy's mother demanded, pulling his hand away from Flaky's. The porcupine let out another nervous laugh and rubbed her throbbing gloved hand.

"Dad! Was that really necessary?" Lammy questioned. Her father folded his arms, "You know how I feel about you on motorbikes, Lammy!" He commented with a sharp glare. His voice was low and husky, and it wasn't hard to tell that he was a smoker.  
>Lammy's mother, Margarette, sighed and shook her head, "I'm really sorry about him, Flaky, he's been having problems with work lately..."<p>

"It's ok, I understand," Flaky smiled, "so how about we start over, 'Mr. Tough Guy'?" That definitely wasn't the smartest thing to say around Lammy's father…but it was too late now.

"_...WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!_"

"Dad! I can hear you yelling from outside!" An unknown voice called out from the front door. Before Flaky finished seeing her life flash before her eyes, she spun and met eyes with another green bear.

He resembled the rather aggressive bear she had just met, only he had pale green fur and bright hazel eyes. The boy approached them partially covered in oil from head to toe; no doubt due to tinkering with some form of vehicle. Ultimately, Flaky guessed that this was Lammy's brother.

Seeing as though she'd found her escape route from their welcoming father burning scowl, Flaky swiftly walked over to the light green bear and shook his hand immediately; the boy gazed at her, half confused, half awestruck.

"Hi! I'm Flaky! Sorry for a quick greeting but I'd better leave! Bye!" Flaky rushed through her words before speeding out their front door. The green bear looked outside and watched her jump onto the strange bike he'd came across before entering, before placing her helmet over her quills.

He probably would have chased after the girl in an attempt to offer her to stay longer, but she'd zoomed off before he could step foot out of his house. And as he watched her distance from their house, the bear couldn't help but feel devastated at the fact that he didn't even get a chance to catch her name, and she didn't get his. But upon realisation that struck him, the boy went to see his sister out of curiosity,

"Hey, uh, Lammy? Who was that girl…?"

**…~x~X~x~…**

After quite the welcoming from a wealthy family full of mixed personalities, Flaky took her time driving as a way to shrug off the fear that Lammy's father had practically embedded into her. The apartment building from earlier was set in her mind, and so she decided that the best thing to do right now would be to settle for today.

Minutes later, Flaky was able to redirect herself to where the mall was from memory, and turned straight into the carpark of the tall apartment building. However, Flaky realised that she must have been paying very little attention to her surroundings; she was actually stopping to enter a hotel, and noticed this upon entering to face a large hotel reception.

It was oddly quiet for a building so large, and the main room was empty of a single soul - besides the receptionist, that is. 'Man…this is like a ghost town', Flaky thought to herself, walking towards the reception desk. The man comfortably seated behind it was a tall blue moose, and he appeared to be sleeping on the job. Flaky sighed and hit the bell on the counter, but he didn't move a muscle.

"Excuse me? Hello? Waiting to book a room here?" Flaky impatiently stated to the sleeping moose, only to gain nothing but an obnoxious snore as a response.

With her patience thinned to its limit, Flaky reached over to snatch the pen from his pocket and signed the list of available rooms with her name on the most expensive one there was. Then without paying a single penny, the porcupine grabbed the right door keys from behind the counter and casually walked away to find her new room, "That's what you get for sleeping on the job, my friend."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning greeted her abruptly as Flaky awoke to the sound of her alarm buzzing. With a slight case of amnesia nestled in her head, the girl sluggishly turned in her bed to face her bedside clock, wondering why on earth she'd set the alarm. Then it hit her when she realised the room she was currently in, and the softly-cushioned bed she had sunk into overnight.

She was no longer living with Francis, and a exhilarated sigh of relief escaped her lips when Flaky thought over such a happy feeling. No more worries, no more paranoia, and no more mental torture.

After a few minutes of savouring the comfort of her overly priced bed, in an equally overly priced hotel room, the porcupine figured it was about time she got ready; she had a new school to attend, and remembered her short-lived meeting with Lammy and her family the day before.

Having been too lazy to bother unpacking previously, Flaky was left to stumble out of bed in nothing but underwear. She stepped over the pile of yesterday's clothing that was carelessly dumped by her bedside, and crouched down by her suitcase. Then after minutes of rummaging through her belongings, Flaky settled on wearing a simple T-shirt, denim shorts, and low-cut sneakers. It looked fairly sunny out today, compared to the weather when she'd first arrived.

When she stepped out of the elevator on her way towards the exit, Flaky noticed that the same moose from last night was asleep, yet again, at the reception desk. The porcupine scoffed and strode over to the tills, quietly opened them, and stole most of the money. Flaky giggled to herself as she stuffed the handfuls of money into her back pocket and casually walked out of the hotel.

**…~x~X~x~…**

"So she's new to this town?"

"Yep."

"And she's looking for a high school?"

"Yes, Flippy. I told you about her yesterday! Now _please,_ shut up!"

Lammy was walking to school with her brother, Flippy, and she was getting fed up of his constant questioning about Flaky. What made her even more annoyed with him was the fact that they he's just been asking the same questions over and over again.

They quickly arrived at school after following their usual route and they were about to enter before class starts, but before they did, they both heard the familiar motorbike from yesterday. Lammy smiled brightly as Flaky got off her bike and removed her helmet. Flaky was quick to notice Lammy waving from entrance, with Flippy curiously eyeing the porcupine.

"Hey guys," Flaky said as she walked towards them, "so this is the only high school in town?"

"Apparently, yes." Lammy sighed in a reply. Flaky gave a shrug, "Well then, I'd better go and see if it's good enough!" Then with that, she said a quick farewell to them before strolling off into the school. Flippy anxiously scratched the back of his head, he didn't even get a chance to speak to her.

"Don't worry, Flippy, when she's finally settled, you'll get a chance to properly meet her." She confirmed with a wink. He only sighed out of partial doubt, "I hope you're right."

Just then, the bell for first lesson went off, and Flippy and Lammy were already on their way to class. Flippy had an unknown feeling about Flaky, despite the fact that they never got a chance to be properly introduced. When they entered the classroom, they took their usual seats and waited for the teacher to arrive.

"Good morning, class! I hope you've all had a good weekend because I know I didn't!" That was their teacher, he was a tall blind mole with black round glasses. As always, the neck of his dark jumper was covering his mouth and it almost completely muffled his words.

"Good morning Professor Mole." The class replied in unison. They shuffled in their seats in an attempt to get comfy, knowing that they would be up for another drab lesson. Even though the Mole was blind, he was very intelligent and a really kind person to anyone. But that doesn't change the fact that his lessons _are _boring.

"Now before we begin today's lesson, we have a new student attending our school, and because our class is the only one with few spaces left, she'll be moved into ours," as the teacher explained, in walked the red porcupine, Flaky. Lammy's smile grew as wide as the Cheshire cat's. The teacher told her to take the empty desk between Lammy and Flippy, "Now that's settled, let's begin..."

**…~x~X~x~…**

"Class dismissed." The Mole said with a calm smile. The students packed up their books and headed for the door.

Lammy caught up with Flaky whiles Flippy went the opposite way to get to his next lesson. Flaky stopped at her locker and placed her books in. Lammy did the same before asking what lesson she had next, "Did you even receive your timetable today, Flaky?"

"Yeah, I got if from the office before I came to class. I have French class next, what about you?"

"Damn... I have Spanish, I didn't pick French. But that means you're in Flippy's class because he also chose French. At least now you guys can get to know each other!" Then with that, they both went their separate ways and quickly rushed to their next lesson.

Flippy halted as he heard his name being called from behind. He turned around and saw Flaky quickly walking to catch up with him. Flippy slightly smiled at her, he finally had his chance to speak to her, though she was the first to speak, "Hey, sorry about leaving in such a hurry yesterday, your father kinda scared me back there…"

"Don't worry about him; he wouldn't dare to hurt a girl. He's just a little too protective over my sister." Flippy chuckled. Flaky raised her eyebrows, "I see…so he got worried over her riding on a motorbike? Gee, my dad was the one that told me to get a bike…it's a long story." Flaky sighed; avoiding having to explain her fathers adrenaline-fueled ego. Flippy flashed an understanding smile and they carried on walking to class.

In Flippy's eyes, Flaky seemed like a nice girl. She has a great sense of humour, she's stunningly beautiful, and she even rides a sports bike. When comparing her to your average girl in high school, it became difficult to spot similarities. As they continued to weave in and out of the busy crowds to get to next class, Flippy easily heard his counterpart's voice ringing in his head.

_'Oh great, you've finally fell for a girl. It's about time, wouldn't you agree?'_

And just when Flippy thought that he was going keep his trap shut for today; he has to open his mouth at this very moment in time. 'He' is, Evil, and he is the aftermath of a split personality disorder. How Flippy had found himself with such an oddity to his mentality was a long story, and it's not exactly the best choice for a bedtime story. Thus, the bear keeps his traumatic tale to himself.

_'Well? Aren't you gonna tell me more about this chick, or do I have to come out from your pathetic thoughts and see to her myself?'_

"No, Evil, that won't be necessary, I think she'll want to know me instead of you."

_'You can't be serious! How would you know that? I'm pretty sure she wouldn't judge a book by its cover, right?'_

"It's either that or she takes a look at the contents."

That comeback would of silenced Evil for now, but Flippy was certain he'd be back to taunt after lesson. Speaking of which, they had finally arrived outside their classroom. Luckily they weren't late; a few people were still filling the seats, so the two stepped in and searched for a decent seat among the remaining ones.

She turned to Flippy with a smile and pointed at an empty desk at the back of the classroom. But before he could even answer, Flaky quickly grabbed his hand and literally dragged him there. It was then the bear realised that two particular girls - that he unfortunately knows quite well - always claim that desk as their own. Those two particular girls just so happened to arrive there before they did, and as the porcupine approached their desk, the girls eyed Flaky up and down with spite.

"Can I help you?" One of the girls said. Her name was Giggles, a pink-furred chipmunk, dressed rather formally in a short skirt and floral shirt. The girl with her was a dark blue skunk named Petunia, attired in a purple, knee-lengthed chiffon dress.

"Oh don't mind us, girls, we're just gonna take these seats." Flaky calmly stated. Flippy could tell that Petunia and Giggles didn't like Flaky's attitude one bit, just by looking at the unpleasant glares on their makeup-coated faces.

"I don't think so, _new girl_. These are our seats. Now back off." Petunia calmy threatened. But Flaky didn't flinch; she simply kept a small smile stuck to her lips. Flippy didn't know what she was thinking, but he doubted it was a positive thought.

Flaky definitely didn't like these two little girls thinking they could step in front of her with hard eyes, all over a stupid desk. 'Their seats'? She didn't think so.

The porcupine slightly leaned her head closer to theirs, dangerously narrowing her eyes at the two of them, "No, you back off or I swear I'm gonna do something that I probably won't regret." she then hissed at the skunk. Petunia swallowed and shuffled away to the desk next to them, along with the pink chipmunk.

Flaky looked back at Flippy, a shocked expression painted on his face. She wasn't sure why, but didn't complain. She smiled at him and sat in a seat behind the desk, he did too after a short moment of hesitation. Flaky then shot the dirtiest glare she could muster over at the two females by the desk next to them. They quietly scoffed and looked away. The porcupine could tell already that those to sensitive little girls are going to get on her nerves.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N: Finally got a chapter done for this story! Yay! **

**I won't ramble on to you guys, so enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 4:**

The clock seemed to be moving at a snail's pace during French class. Flaky stared at it, bored and anxious as the thinnest arm dragged its way around the numbers. Tapping the pen in between her fingers against her desk wasn't an optional thing to do; the teacher had already demanded that she'd stop, or a detention would be arranged at break time. From the seat next to her, Flippy noticed Flaky's dire boredom and slightly nudged her arm to catch her attention. Flaky kept her eyes on the circular clock, but turned her head a bit to show she was listening.

Flippy whispered, "You know, if you don't want time to seem so slow, avoid looking at the clock." Flaky raised an eye-brow in confusion, but went with it. Flippy smirked, "Don't worry, I'm just as bored as you are."

"_Flippy and Flaky!_ Pay attention to the board, or you'll both be with me at break time, making up for the minutes you spent slacking off." The teacher's sudden scolding pierced their small conversation. Unfazed, Flaky rolled her eyes, and Flippy slouched back into his seat. Their purple deer shot them one last scowl, before turning back to the whiteboard to continue teaching.

Quickly going back into a state of boredom when her conversation with Flippy was interrupted, Flaky tried to keep one thing and one thing only in mind; don't get excluded from this school. Discovering just how much of an annoyance it is to move into a completely new school in a new area was bothersome to even think about. Sighing, the porcupine folded her arms on top of her open book and plopped her head into them. Giggles noticed Flaky from the corner of her eye, cooked up a sudden idea, and then raised her hand for the teacher to see.

"Yes, Giggles?" He responded with an agitated sigh. The chipmunk then used the same hand to point down at the lazing porcupine, "Flaky's slacking off again, sir."

Hearing the mention of her name caused her head to shoot up immediately, "What?". The deer frowned at Flaky from across the room, "Detention at break, Flaky, no exceptions."

Petunia stifled her laughing from the seat besides her pink friend, but soon silenced them altogether when Flippy shot them a disappointed look, "Sir, give Flaky a break." Flippy objected, gaining nothing but a impatient sigh from their teacher, "Do you want to join Flaky in detention?"

Flippy shrugged his shoulders, "...do whatever you want." The teacher's gaze darkened at his disrespect, but he huffed and proceeded to do what he's payed for, "If that's what you wish, Flippy. You can both come back here after second period, and you'll be spending all break in here."

The rest of the students turned their curious focus back to the front of the room before they angered their French teacher even more. Giggles and Petunia coyly flashed Flaky and Flippy a smile with the shrug of one shoulder, to which the other two ignored and brushed off. A smile tugged at Flaky's lips when she realized that Flippy had sacrificed his free time sticking up for her. Her eyes fell onto her empty notebook, so she picked up her pen and began to scribble down the start of a more...silent conversation. As soon as Flippy noticed the notebook sliding over to his side, he glanced down at the handwriting.

_'You didn't need to do that back there, you could've gone out to break!'_

Without looking at Flaky, Flippy was quick to jot down a response, _'Don't worry about it. You didn't even do anything incredibly wrong. Mr. Mime is known for handing out exaggerated punishments to pupils.'_

Flaky read Flippy's note and pouted in thought before writing again,_ 'Some teacher...but what about Lammy? Will she be alone at break?'_

_'Lammy normally spends her break in catch-up sessions to boost her marks, she'll be fine.'_

After reading his last reply, Flaky left their note exchanging at that. Flippy shot her a quick reassuring smile, letting her know that he wasn't too fussed about losing his break. Somewhat embarrassed by his friendly gesture, Flaky shyly grinned, and then quickly turned to face the whiteboard. A grimace overtaking her smile when she noticed the never-ending paragraphs of notes and information that was to be written down. Flippy noticed her grief and silently chuckled at the girl's unhappiness and watched for a moment as she began to hastily scribble down the written work on the board.

Taking in Flippy's interest in Flaky, Petunia's jaw tensed and untensed. A small buzz of envy clenching at her chest. Flaky must have felt the skunkette's burning eyes in her direction, because the moment Flaky paused in her writing to look over at her - eyeballing the bear sat with her - Petunia instantly looked away to continue scribbling down their given work. Processing Petunia's odd gaze at Flippy, the porcupine grew fairly curious as to why she seemed so off, but saved her pondering for later on.

Facing her notebook, Flaky studied Flippy by her peripherals. She had yet to know more about the bear, just like he had to know more about her. So she hoped that their detention might make it worth their while.

**...~x~X~x~...**

The second period went by in a flash. Flaky's favourite: Physical education. So it had helped to lighten her mood from the overbearing gloom she suffered in her French class. When the bell wrang to indicate the student's dismissal from classes to their half an hour break time, Flaky knew where she had to be.

Making her way out off the P.E. changing rooms, Flaky only just managed to remember the way to the Foreign Language classrooms, but froze within the few hurrying people rushing to wherever as she spotted Flippy stood outside their previous classroom, conversing with what appeared to be Petunia and Giggles. Suddenly inquisitve by this, Flaky stood idly to wait at the end of the corridor.

Further inspection lead the porcupine to see that Giggles was rather infuriated, and Petunia seemed a little awkward in her stance. After a minute, the two girls departed with a share of megative expressions, oblivious to passing by Flaky, who then approached a waiting Flippy.

"What was that all about, Flippy?" The bear heard from the side of him. He turned to face the red-furred female from before. He exhaled a breath he'd held back when the other two girls came over to fill his head with stress, "It's nothing important to worry about, those two just don't know when to leave me alone."

Flaky nodded, understanding his irritation from her own first impression of the two girls, but also wondering where their pettiness comes from. Surely that isn't their attitude by choice, right?

"Ah, there you both are," Mr. Mime's French-accented voice chimed from the oppisite end of the corridor, "I'll be on duty for this break, watching over the pupils, so I'll just have to trust that you will both behave in my classroom on your own."

A tint of pink blushed across Flippy's cheeks as he comprehended his words in the wrong way. It only took one look at Flippy's heated cheeks for her to let Mr. Mime's words sink in. She scoffed in amusement at the bear's dirty humour, also blushing herself in embarrassment that he'd think in such a way.

On the other hand, the teacher was completely missing the point and was left confused by their bemusement, "...uh...whatever, just go in and take a seat each at the oppisite side of the room. Try not to converse please, or trash my room-"

"Sir, we aren't 12-year-olds, your room will be fine." Flaky interrupted. Mr. Mime's brow twitched, "A-Alright then. So, half an hour in here, and I'll be locking the door to make sure of it."

With that, Flaky and Flippy entered their French classroom sitting at a desk either side of the room as instructed. But as soon as the click of the lock was heard, Flaky was quick on her feet to perch herself on the desk in front of Flippy's to face him.

"So. Now that teach is gone we can chat a little!" The porcupine beamed at the bear, smiling sweetly. He smirked, folding his arms behind his head and sitting back, "Alright, what do you wanna talk about?"

Flippy watched as she pondered, pouting her lips like she tended to do when in thought. Petunia and Giggles instantly flashed in her mind, "What's the deal with those two girls? The moment they laid eyes on me their faces just...twisted."

Although he did want to be honest with Flaky, Flippy didn't want to spill the full story behind their spite towards Flippy. Or at least any other girl around Flippy. They were all too cautious over Flippy ever since the event that never ceased to spiral in his head whenever he was around Giggles and Petunia, and he'd rather not explain it to a girl he'd just met; and taken an undeniable liking to at the same time. Thus, he pushed aside the truth and covered it up with something credible.

"Oh, Giggles and Petunia? Well, they're just unfriendly to a lot of girls, especially new ones," Flippy started. Flaky tilted her head, wondering what makes them act in such a way towards other girls. When Flippy continued, she soon found out why, "They also tend to compare themselves with other girls, and if there's anyone they think is better than them, then that girl's likely going to get the shit end of their stick. And let's not lie about how pretty you are, Flaky."

Taken by surprise, Flippy's words caused Flaky's ears to perk. Did he just call her pretty? She blinked and looked at him, blushing imensely at his boldness, "You...think I'm pretty?"

Flippy chuckled and grinned at her question, "Well I'm not going to lie about it, you are. And you're different, which is something that's difficult to come across in this dump of a school."

The confidence in his gaze didn't help to cease her blush, and she then had stumble for words to say, "U-uh...well...th-thanks." He would've grinned wildly at the change in her attitude that he had incited by simply complimenting her, but only smiled to ease her from anymore embarrassment.

Flaky quickly brushed off the bear's compliment to ask another itching question, "Oh, I aslo wanted to ask why I caught that skunk giving you the eyeball during French today?" Flippy swallowed hard at her question, having no idea how to answer. Tell her their past? Or lie?

"Eh...I dunno, she's never really liked me that much, and it's the same with Giggles." He meekly responded, gazing up at the ceiling lights, noticing one that started to flicker and spark. Flaky narrowed her eyes at the uncertainty in his answer, but avoided the urge to quizz him about it.

The two of them were sat in silence for the rest of the time being. Flaky remained sat on the desk in front of Flippy's, thinking back to him openly calling her pretty out of nowhere. Flippy, however, couldn't take his worried eyes off the seizuring cylinder bulb in the light pannels of the ceiling.

_You'd better hope that bulb doesn't do any more than flicker, Flippy, or you know what'll happen next..._

Evil's husky voice wrung around Flippy's skull menacingly. But Flippy knew he was right; one sudden trigger and his alter ego will break out. Flippy didn't even want to think about what Flaky would do, and how she would react when she finds out about his mental illness. He especially refrained from even assuming what Evil would do to Flaky if he took over.

Flicker...spark...flicker...spark..._pop_.

The fuse blew out, burtsing the bulb. The shatter of the glass striking the floor and desks below caught both their attention, but it sharply penetrated his ears, causing a loud buzz of noise to echo over his hearing. He began to pant as his breath soon quickened, and then grunted heavily as it shortened. Flaky watched in worry as the bear began to painfully clutch his head.

"What's wrong...?" She quietly asked. Flippy tried to force out his struggled words, "Go...hide! Leave!"

Hide? Leave? Flaky wasn't sure what to think or do. She wanted to help him with whatever was paining him so, but the harshness in his deepened voice told her otherwise. She wasn't, however, going to leave him and hide. Besides, there was no getting out of a locked classroom. So after mustering her courage to try and comfort him, Flaky stepped down from the table to walk around to his, and then timidly rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you...okay?" She lightly asked. Recieving no reply, she tried again, "Flippy...what's wrong with you?"

Flippy's shaking soon stilled, along with his throat-sore heavy breathing. Then without a warning, the pale green bear shoved away her hand, errupting a small yelp and a jump from an offended Flaky. Before she could angrily retort at his action, Flippy stood up - revealing a questionable change in features. His eyes were no longer a pleasant green, they were now a neaseating tone of chartreuse. His brows remained stuck in a threatening frown, and his canines had dangerously sharpened.

Flaky's eyes widened in horror and disbelief. What just happened? Flippy went from being calm and collected to agitated and, for some reason, unexplainably hurt. Her stomach knotted up with discomfort as his new eyes drank up her appearance, a cruel smile slowly tugging at his lips. Flaky would have taken a step back as he drew himself closer, but being wedged inbetween two desks with him didn't give her the chance.

Displeased with Flippy's obnoxious change, Flaky put her guard up. Something she didn't think she'd need to do around someone as kind as he was, "What's your problem, Flippy?" She pushed her hands against his chest to prevent him from invading further into her personal space, but that only seemed to widen his sickening grin.

"So you must be Flaky? I've been hearing so much about you from Flippy." Evil spoke. The differing tone of his voice boggled Flaky's mind, leaving her to question if this was actually Flippy she was squared up by, "Is this some kind of sick joke you like to pull?!" Flaky dubiously quizzed, a sudden wave of anger growing within her. She didn't know what had happened to Flippy for him to abruptly look and act so strangely, but he didn't seem to take in her obvious demand for answers.

Evil's grin subsided into a smaller smile, realising that his existence within Flippy had still been kept a secret, "Not at all...Flippy hasn't told you about me yet, has he?"

"What the hell is this all about Flippy? You're starting to piss me off!" Flaky'd had enough of his head-games, and forcefully shoved the taller bear out of her face. Evil cooed tauntingly at her courage, "Looks like I've found myself a tough little girl! What are you gonna do to me now babe? Pun-"

_Punch_. Flaky certainly did punch him. Square in the face, and it succeeded in stunning Evil for a short amount of time. Shocked, the sadistic alter ego held onto his sore, bleeding nose, gawking at her in utter amazement. It'd been a while since Evil had tasted his own blood, and practically forever since a girl had fought back against his cruelty.

Keeping her fists clenched, Flaky stood ready and waiting for Flippy to make another dumb move. However, Evil wasn't quite done toying with the porcupine, "You know, Flaky, you might just be my new favourite girl."

Flaky snarled in irritation; seeing that her punch hardly inflicted any pain only made her want to punch the bear even harder. But when she swung her fist once more, Evil was too quick to miss it, and managed to catch it in his grip before it could reach his face. With a smirk plastered on his face, Evil teased her hand in his, threatening to almost crush it as he squeezed her smaller hand in his palm. Flaky winced in pain as he suffocated her clenched fist.

"Are you going to apologise for punching me? Or do you have anything else in store?" Evil chuckled, a hintful tone to his voice. Flaky scowled at him, attempting to use her free hand to pry his hand from her other, but to no avail. Instead, Evil grabbed her other arm by the wrist, to which she now struggled to escape.

The more Flaky strained to force Evil away from her, the more Evil pushed her arms back. Eventually, she was left hopeless against the table under his crazed gaze.

"I think I'm starting to understand Flippy's fancy in you, Flaky, we both love the fight in a girl." Evil whispered into her ear. Tiring under Evil's pressure against her pushing arms, Flaky gave up and untensed, huffing in distress, "Get the fuck off of me." With that, she swiftly raised her knee using whatever engery she still had, until it collided with the bear's most sensitive asset, errupting an agonizing grunt from Evil.

But to Flaky's displeasure it didn't faze the bear as much as she intended it to, and he remained in place keeping her restrained underneath him. Evil coughed up trapped air a few times, before laughing out, "That was very uncalled for Flaky!"

His grip on her wrists tightened, and Flaky clenched her teeth, desperate for an escape and the nicer Flippy to come back. She turned her head to look at the clock; half an hour was almost up, meaning Mr. Mime was going to come back and find them like this - pinned mercilessly underneath an insane bear with a badly bleeding nose. So seeking a solution to knock some sense into Flippy, she stared into his eyes. Evil soon stopped laughing when her gaze hooked his attention. But as soon as he lost focus on keeping her arms at bay, Flaky was quick to act with the advantage and shoved him to the side, resulting in him hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Flaky shot a warning look down at Evil, who only managed to glare at the porcupine, "Never drop your guard for a second, Flippy."

**...~x~X~x~...**

As the bell sounded, students slowly started to make their way to their next class. Along his travels, Mr. Mime was greeted by Lammy, whom had rushed to find him to ask about Flaky and her brother.

"Those two are nothing but a pair of slackers, Lammy, you ought to teach your brother and your new friend a lesson or two." The teacher commented. Lammy shrugged, unsure of what to say, but curious about what happened in their French lesson.

At his classroom door, Mr. Mime fiddled through the many keys on his keyring to dig out the right one. Lammy waited with him, awaiting to see the two locked behind the door in detention. But as she curiously peeked through the window, past the many signs and papers tacked to it, her eyes widened in shock.

"Uh, sir?"

"What is it, Lammy?" Mr. Mime said, finally holding the right key in his fingers, ready to unlock the door. Lammy hesitated for a while, but soon responding as the deer grew impatient, "I think they're both fighting."

The door was instantly forced open, drawing the attention of both Flippy and Flaky. Seeing the state they were in infuriated Mr. Mime, but Lammy only sighed and face-palmed. After the several punches and scratches from Flaky, Evil was soon knocked back into the depths of Flippy's head, allowing the real bear to gain control. Unfortunately for him, the raging porcupine hadn't noticed the change in his eyes as she was too busy strangling him.

"FLAKY! Get your hands away from his throat this instant!"

Mr. Mime's booming voice manged to shake Flaky from her fit of anger, and she finally looked down into Flippy's eyes - noticing that the dirty-yellow colour had been replaced by the familiar, olive green ones.

"What the he-"

"Both of you to the principle's office! Now!"

**A.N: Flaky's finally found out about Evil, and do I sense a hint of flirting from Flippy? Eh, likely.**

**Sorry if this seemed a little rushed, I was dying to get a new chapter up, so I had to do it alongside my piles of courswork. But the next chapter will be much better and longer! Promise~!**

**Anyways, let me know what you think please guys and gals. Thanks to any followers and fav'ers! Also, feel free to leave me some ideas for the plotline, I'd love to hear some :3**

**Now to work on some other stories XD**

_**~Loli **_


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N: Here's the fifth chapter! Enjoy :3**

**(EDIT: The first three chapters have been re-written, so I would advise you to go back and read. Not a lot has changed, but there are big differences.)**

* * *

><p>After a stern implorement from Mr. Mime, both Flippy and Flaky found themselves in a seat outside of the principal's office, shrouded in a cloud of awkward silence. From time to time, they would share a quick look, but the moment their eyes met, they'd instantly turn their heads the other way as a flood of humiliation swept over them. The door to the office opened, and out stepped Mr. Mime. No doubt he was angry whilst discussing their fight with the headmaster, because as he left the room to return to his classroom, the deer shot them both a stern, warning look practically demanding that they 'never do it again'.<p>

"I hope you know that fighting in school is against the rules of this school." The moment they'd both entered the office, she was instantly met with the voice of their aware headmaster.

Stunned, they both hesitated to take a seat in front of the wooden desk. But soon did as the mole gestured them to do so. Their short trip to the principle's office wasn't as terrible as they'd assumed; Flaky was intrigued to see that their headmaster was blind, but even more intrigued at his friendliness. Yet still, a punishment is a punishment, and Mr. Mole had to carry out the rules of the school; excluding both Flaky and Flippy for the rest of the day, as a result of their violence. So after their brief talk with the purple mole, they exited the office.

"So the principle's blind?" Flaky started, trying to make a conversation over their awkwardness as they trekked towards their lockers. Flippy nodded his head, "He is, but don't be fooled. The last person that tried to take advantage of his disability was permanently excluded from school."

The porcupine frowned, "I see…" having arrived at the corridor of lockers, Flaky unlocked hers to retrieve any belongings, "…so, if you don't mind me asking of course, what the hell happened back there?" her gaze was now stern as she quizzed him, and it mustered up a doubtful feeling inside him. What was he supposed to say without giving off the impression of a lunatic?

"Uh, well, it's not something easy to explain without sounding crazy," he began, stuffing his books into his bag. Flaky narrowed her eyes as she muddled over his words, "Go on." she urged him to continue, but he couldn't bring himself to utter an explanation right now, "tell you what, when we get out of here I'll take you for a bite to eat, then I'll tell you everything. Okay?"

Abashed, Flaky just shrugged and accepted his offer with a nod, "Sure, why not?" the porcupine then froze in thought, glancing at her wristwatch, "It's the third period, right? Which class is Lammy in?"

Flippy took a moment to think over the lamb's timetable; being a year younger, Lammy's lessons were different, "I think she has Mathematics, her least favourite." he replied with a chuckle. Flaky's face lit up with a smile, "Well then, all the better to bring her with us!"

"You can't be serious! She'll fall behind, and Math isn't something easy to catch up on-"

"Oh don't be such a nag! Lammy will thank us for sure!" Flaky disrupted him, nudging her elbow roughly against his arm to urge him on, "Come on, don't be a bore."

Eventually, Flippy buckled under her persistent behaviour and agreed, "Alright, alright! I'll show you the way to her Math class."

Now stood outside the door to Lammy's current classroom, Flaky pulled out a scrap piece of paper from her notebook and neatly scribbled down a fake dismissal note against the wall. All the while, Flippy stood aside and watched with amusement, "Do you really think the teacher's going to believe that? That's one of the oldest tricks in the book." Flaky only shot him an indolent smile, "Watch me."

With her head perched in her hand, Lammy's drooping eyes bored into the back of the teacher's head as he scribbled down masses of algebra on the whiteboard. Now and then, she'd glance up at the clock, only to be let down by time. Despite algebra being one of her least favourite subjects of Math, Lammy knew more than enough about it having studied it frequently.

A brief series of knocks from the door had paused the teacher in his drab explanations, much to the class' respite, "Enter." the teacher accorded, and when the door opened to reveal Flaky, Lammy expectantly straightened up in her seat.

"I have a note from the headmaster, for Lammy to be dismissed." the porcupine stated after clearing her throat. The teacher adjusted his glasses over his eyes to read the note. With very little reason to be dismissed, Lammy was at a loss for a moment, but when she took sight of her brother peaking through the door she got a gist of what was going on.

"Hmm…" the teacher mumbled, his eyes narrowly scanning the note. Lammy presumed he could tell the note was fake, until, "…very well. Gather your things, Lammy, then you may leave."

As she turned to leave, Flaky shot Lammy a wink as she stuffed her books and pencil case in her bag, and shot an egoistic look at Flippy as she left the class, "Told you so." she whispered with a smile, to which Flippy raised an eyebrow and leered a smile, "I stand corrected."

**…~x~X~x~…**

The two girls had left the ordering up to Flippy as they arrived, and went off into the restaurant's dining area to find a table to sit at. It was void of any people of their age, as they'd still be stowed away in a dull school building. Having found the best table, a secluded booth at the far end of the diner, Flaky and Lammy took their seats facing one another, and set their bags by their feet.

Lammy held a thankful grin for the porcupine, still grateful for being saved from the inevitable doom of Math. Flaky simply smiled back and playfully patted the younger girls head, "You and your brother should break the rules more often. It's not as drastic as it's made out to be." she playfully stated, rousing a skeptical expression on the lamb's face, "Is that the reason you've been kicked out of so many schools in the past?"

A little taken aback by her fortuitous question, Flaky's eyes widened and her cheeks lightened with embarrassment, "A-Ah, that? Well, I just…I didn't want to waste my time of youth in no dumb school."

Lammy only smiled tightly, narrowing her eyes with dubiety, "I see. So you aren't a mean old rebel then?" Flaky's smile brightened with bemusement at Lammy's question, "The school's uptite staff will probably tell you that much."

Noticing a familiar shade of green approaching them silenced Lammy from continuing their conversation, "Food's here!" she happily buzzed. Flaky turned her head to shoot a small smile at the bear before he sat down, placing their tray of food down on the table between them.

Sadly, as Lammy hastily dug into her french fries, she was oblivious to the awkward tension that had settled between both Flaky and Flippy since their breakout of violence in detention. Flippy could tell that the porcupine still wanted those answers she'd demanded before, and the hard look in her eyes told him that she wasn't going to let anything slide. So he began to follow in Lammy's steps and ate some of his fries too, waiting for Flaky to bring up the topic.

And she did, after prolonging the dreaded silence, "So," Flaky began, swallowing her mouthful of chewed food, "care to tell me the reason behind your little show earlier?"

The moment her wary question rolled off her tongue, Flippy was hit by a harsh wall of perplexity, and he wasn't so sure he'd find the ability to explain without trembling over the distressing memories. With her attention now pulled from her food, Lammy meekly eyed the two teens, but with more caution at her older brother. Something must have happened for Flaky to ask such a thing, and it made Lammy's appetite shrink.

"Is…everything okay, guys?" the lamb gingerly spoke up, heeding their blatant tension. Flaky turned to face Lammy with a warm, reassuring expression, "Don't worry, Lammy, I'm just a tad curious about your brother's different behaviors."

Flippy turned down his food for the meantime, and thought over how to begin explaining. Lammy didn't want to listen closely; she already knew what was to be said about last year's tragedy…

_"Flippy, Lammy, can you both wait quietly in your rooms, please?" their mother's typically warming voice was teaming with apprehension._

_The two teens did as they were told and quickly made their way up the stairs to sit tightly in Flippy's room. The lamb never dared to peek through the window blinds as Flippy did, and remained sat shivering with fear. On the other hand, Flippy's body was tense with anger, and he stared out of the small gap in the closed blinds to watch as the small group of people excited one car._

_"Why are they back, Flippy?" Lammy nervously questioned. There was a pause before Flippy could think of his response; even he was unsure, "…I don't know…but I want to find out."_

_As the bear headed for the bedroom door, the lamb's eyes widened with consternation, "Where are you going?!" she loudly whispered. Flippy turned to gesture at Lammy to remain where she was, "I'm going to see what they want for myself. I'm sick of mom and dad hiding things from us."_

_Then with that, the bear darted towards the top of the stairs; light on his feet to prevent the stir of alert. He waited by the stair banister with a hitched breath to see the people who stepped through the door. Both his mother and father were stood in place, metres away from their front door. Their shared rigidity was practically steaming from them, and it provoked Flippy's insecurities about the arising situation - were they about to let danger step through the door?_

_He blinked his drying eyes and continued to watch with anticipation. He had a very bad feeling that something awful was soon to happen, so he instinctually became more alert as the door was opened from the outside._

_Up to four people entered - their features were masked by black full-bodied gear suits. The three taller ones were the only to approach Flippy's parents. The much shorter one, obviously female, silently stood aside from them as they began to converse sternly._

_"It pains us to drop by like this, Mr and Mrs Olivine, but without reserve we were left with no choice." Flippy's eyes narrowed with uncertainty, but he continued to eavesdrop on the indigent conversation. His father spoke up, "You are all unwanted here, and you lack the right to waltz through my door with threats against my family-"_

_"Threats?" the leading male intervened with a disbelieving chuckle, "The only threats here are the ones you've brought upon yourself, Frank. You didn't bother to pay back your favours. We kept all those mouths shut for the sake of your life and the lives of your wife and kids, and your ignorance is what we get in return?" the rising tone of spite in the man's voice was alarming, and as he took a slow step forward, Flippy's mother and father took another step back, "We've already stated several times that we want nothing to do with your cooperation anymore! Screw your contract, and get the hell out of my house!"_

_As Frank raised his voice over the other man, the stranger pulled out a handgun from his side and aimed it in his the bear's face. This only flickered a spark of panic in Flippy, and watching as the uninvited guest pointed a gun in his own father's face gave him the blind urges to react. And yet, he didn't - paralyzed by the surges of fear that wracked down his nervous system._

_He heard his mother whimper on the verge of tears, "Please, Frank…just do what he wants us to do…" the armed man smiled behind his mask, "You're wife is a smart woman, you should listen to her."_

_Whether or not his wife's worries were calling to him, Frank still wasn't going to lower his guard for the advantage of a slimy group of fugitives. So as he stood in front of Margarette, Frank sternly loured at the gunned man, "I am NOT going to just let you come into my house with your demands. Now leave."_

_Flippy held a smile of slight triumph after witnessing the strength his father's willpower staying intact, despite the form of danger that stood in his face. However, that smile soon faded when the four masked invaders remained unmoving, as if waiting for the order of their leader._

_"Fine. But before we depart, I want to leave you a little…housewarming present…" the man spoke before gesturing his head to the two stood either side of him, "…go." with that, they both exited. The smaller one of them all seemed to look back and forth at the gunned man and the door with skepticism in her motions, so he set her with different instructions, "Check upstairs, and take my other gun. I'm sure you'll know what to do with it."_

_Flippy's eyes widened stupefaction, and he instantly retreated back down the hallway to join Lammy after hearing his mother and father protest with both anger and worry, hearing the slow footsteps of the approaching girl up the stairs._

_"Quickly, Lammy! Hide under the bed!" he hastily instructed, before approaching his bedroom closet. After swinging open the doors to quietly step in, Flippy rested his finger over his lips in a hushing motion to ensure Lammy will remain quiet._

_Though disheveled by the sudden rush of confusion, the lilac lamb did as she was told, and remained as silent as possible in the darkness under Flippy's bed. She set her eyes to intently watch the open door, and seconds later a pair of black boots were seen gingerly sneaking through the door. Letting her eyes follow the wandering feet into the room, Lammy breathed as quiet as she possibly could to prevent alerting the stranger. But from within the wardrobe, Flippy could vaguely see the intruder through the thin strip between the wooden doors of hit closet. She was holding the gun tightly in both hands, and gave off an anxiously tense impression. There was something about her that made Flippy think twice about charging out and attacking - and it wasn't just because she was a small girl, it was mostly due to her hesitant approach and lack of action._

_"If that little bitch does anything to my children I'll kill her, and the rest of you!" they each heard Frank yell from downstairs, followed by a calmer response from the man, "Tsk, tsk, how rude of you to utter such presumptions," he looked back out the door to spot his two other partners carrying an empty gas canister back to their four-by-four._

_Flippy watched as the girl scoffed at his father's rude remark, and she looked down at the gun in her hand before shaking her head with disgust. There was no doubt she was standing in the wrong pair of shoes right now. He would have witnessed the removal of her mask, but the erupting sound of a gunshot had startled all of them near to death, followed by the slam of the front door - Lammy and Flippy were especially shaken up with trepidation._

_The girl whizzed around to face the open door of the bedroom, "No…no, no, no…!" she hissed with disbelief before rushing over to the bedroom window, only to witness as her crew piled into the car to speed off. Not only that, but a bright glow emitted from below, and she quickly grasped the situation unfolding before her, "Those bastards!"_

_With his patience up, and an overpowering inquisitiveness tugging at his nerves, Flippy pushed himself through the closet doors to catch the girl before she hurried out of the room. What she then said was nothing he'd expected, "You need to get out of here!"_

_"What are you talking about?" he asked with a frown, only to have both arms pryed at to guide him out of the bedroom door in a hurry, "Don't ask questions! Just-"_

_"Wait!" Flippy loudly intervened before turning back to the bedroom, "Lammy, come on!" after the firm instruction, the lilac lamb appeared from under the bed, and she stumbled to her feet to stay close by her brother as they were lead down stairs._

_The oil-fueled fire that the other masked strangers had started was already spreading rapidly, catching most of the bottom flour's interior. The heart-racing heat of the house was getting to all three of them, and the burning fumes were painful to inhale. All of a sudden, during their hasty descent down the stairs, the wooden foundation in the ceiling about cracked and collapsed through, plummeting right down in front of them. They each flinched back with surprise, and the masked girl turned to point back up the stairs._

_"Hurry! You'll have to find another way out!" she instructed with a panic-coated voice. Flippy and Lammy complied and moved back to the second floor, "Why are you helping us? I thought you were here to rid of us?" Lammy abruptly asked the girl, to which she solemnly replied, "…This was a big mistake."_

_Before they had the chance to say anything else, the girl quickly retraced her steps back down the stairs and dived over the banister to dodge past the fallen pile of ceiling and destroyed steps. Flippy and Lammy's eyes widened, and a wave of horror and skepticism turned their stomachs. Nevertheless, there was no time to stand around and wait in a burning house._

_Flippy grabbed his sister's hand and lead her to their parents' bedroom, "Let's go, we'll have to climb down the ivory." with that, he pushed open the window as wide as he possibly could and stepped out. They were quick and careful with their footing down the trellis structure, and were eventually safely on the feet again. However, their parents were still in the danger of their house…_

_It was quite the struggle, but after minutes of cautiously weaving in and out of the deadly risks that engulfed nearly every room she'd searched, the girl had finally found what she was looking for. The parents of the two she had just parted from the potential dangers were cowering in their kitchen, trapped being a wall of collapsed, burning wood and more fallen ceiling pieces. In an impulse, the masked female leapt as high as she could over the piles of flames to reach the two adults, only to notice who had inflicted the injury from the fired gun._

_Their father was struggling to stay on his feet with his hands over his excruciating bullet wound through his calf. His wife was doing everything she could to hold him up, but was too strangled by her own fearful tears, shock, and the overpowering thick smoke to help him move fast enough. So the girl snaked by his free side and wrapped his arm over her shoulder to hoist up the weight he was struggling to carry on his own._

_"This way!" the small girl exclaimed over the roar of the fires, and she then walked them in the direction of the back door. Luck was on their side; the door's pathway was clear, but they were sure to quickly escape through it in case another loose part of the ceiling blocked it off._

_Frank and Margarette both turned back after exiting to catch the girl in their sight, but to their surprise she was nowhere to be seen._

"...then the following week, I'd began to feel an odd and unnatural pain inside my head, and went through an aggressive phase where I'd suddenly lash out at people around me. My doctor eventually diagnosed my newfound condition as 'post traumatic stress disorder' after days of tests and treatments, and signed me up for a personal therapist...turns out the incident really took its toll on my mentality."

Flippy ended his explanation with a light-hearted chuckle to brush off the depression that threatened to rise along with the memories. But despite his undefeated smile, Flaky couldn't shake the heavy weight of horror that plowed down onto her shoulders during his heart-wrenching tale. The complete loss of her appetite had led the porcupine to neglect the tray of food before her, and she abruptly pushed it away. This caught the attention of both Flippy and Lammy, and they looked at her troubled expression with concern.

Lammy stopped chewing the food in her mouth, swallowed before speaking, "Are you...oka-"

"I'm okay! I-I'm fine! I just...u-uh, I need to...I need to go!" then with that sudden outburst said, Flaky quickly scooped up her bag and dived out of her seat to race for the door, leaving behind two dumbfounded siblings.

Flaky's heart was racing as she exited the restaurant. Her appetite had been destroyed, but that didn't matter by the slightest. The only thing she cared about now was getting out of their sight for the rest of the day, and if whatever luck she had was on her side, Flaky would do everything and anything to avoid them during school tomorrow.

Just when Flaky ever so foolishly assumed she had trekked down an entirely different path from her distorted past, the beginning of a new start had just made one thing clear: erasing what has happened will be an impossible price to pay.

Especially now that Flaky had obliviously befriended two very memorable fragments of the tragic incident.


End file.
